Made by hand to your precise specifications, you can show your chocolatier skills by creating a signature chocolate bar for Valentine’s Day 2011.

Or, make each bar with a special touch for the recipient: milk chocolate, almonds and fleur de sel sea salt for Dad; dried cherries and cranberries in dark chocolate for Mom (the “antioxidant bar”).

Depending on how many toppings you add, the bars cost from $5.00 to $10.00.

Special toppings for Valentine’s Day include pink chocolate drops, strawberry and raspberry bits, marzipan roses, smiley hearts, mini hearts, candied lilacs and rose petals, and banners that say “My Valentine” and “I Love You.”

You’re the chocolatier: Design your
ideal chocolate bars. Photo courtesy
Chocri.com.

You’ve got the weekend: Start designing!

Sugar snap peas (photo by Louis Hiemstra | IST).

Almost everyone loves peas, but few people serve snap peas—even though they’re available year-round.

Sugar snap peas are a cross-breed of the English pea and the Asian snow pea, delivering the best traits of both. Completely edible like snow peas (but with a crunchier pod), the sweet pea pods are filled with plump, round green peas.

And they’re a culinary bargain.

 
Sugar snap peas can be eaten raw or cooked (boiled, microwaved, steamed or stir-fried). They can be enjoyed plain, with a dab of butter or a sprinkle of soy sauce (we like a mix of low-sodium soy sauce and yuzu juice).

Try this recipe for Seared Wild King Salmon with Sugar Snap Peas, Avocado and Tangerine-Fennel Beurre Blanc. More ideas:

 
You’ll enjoy the “snap” in your recipes.
  

Our favorite of the five, Chex PB and Chocolate Blast, did not grab the gold. But here’s the recipe, made with Reese’s Pieces and white chocolate.

Karen Fisher’s winning Chex Cajun Kick snack mix recipe includes Creole seasoning and hot sauce.

(Future contestants please note: The 2009 winner was Buffalo Chex Mix with hot sauce. The recipe voters seem to like heat.)

You’ve got 15 minutes: Make some Chex mix. It can be made up to 2 weeks in advance.

CHEX CAJUN KICK RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2 cups Corn Chex cereal
• 2 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
• 2 cups bite-size pretzel twists
• 2 cups mixed nuts
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (like Tabasco)

The winning Chex mix recipe adds spice
to football night or movie night. Photo
courtesy Chex.

You can start mixing now: It’s nine days to Super Bowl Sunday.

Turkey chili saves calories and fat.
Get the recipe from McCormick.

The choice is yours, but you can feast just as well on better-for-you food with the same amount of prep time. And no one will notice the difference.

We have suggestions from Carl Germano, RD, CDN, a Board-certified clinical nutritionist and the Chief Science Officer of Inergetics, makers of SURGEX, a muscle- and power-generating shake. As someone who spends his days focusing on nutrition, Germano recommends these switches.

Standard: Beef Sliders with Cheese
Smarter: Turkey Sliders with sliced tomato

Standard: Franks in Blankets
Smarter: Chicken Teriyaki Skewers

Standard: Fried Cheese Bread Sticks
Smarter: Sourdough Bread Bowl with Low Fat Spinach Dip (use nonfat Greek yogurt) and Crudités (raw vegetables)

Standard: French Fries, Onion Rings
Smarter: Baked Potato Skins with Tomato/Basil Bruschetta

Standard: Beef Chili with Shredded Cheese and Sour Cream
Smarter: Low Fat Turkey Chili with Black Beans, Corn & Salsa and Nonfat Greek Yogurt

Standard: Fried Buffalo Wings with Ranch Dip
Smarter: Baked Chicken Wings with Hot Sauce Dip

Standard: Regular Pizza with Pepperoni
Smarter: Whole Wheat Margarita Pizza

Standard: Chips
Smarter: Air Popped Popcorn, Whole Wheat Pretzels or Oat Pretzels

Standard: Cookie & Brownie Platter
Smarter: Fresh Fruit Platter

Standard: Beer, Soda, Juice
Smarter: Light Beer, Diet Soda, Flavored Seltzer, Mineral Water

You can have your cake and eat it too, thanks to Holey Donuts!. The secret is in the process: they use a method that takes 22 steps to make and avoids deep fat frying.

You can order donuts in just about type you can imagine, including filled donuts (our favorite and the best sellers) and filled donut holes.

What are you waiting for? Stock up!

• Read the full review.
• Who invented the donut?
• See many different types of pastry in our beautiful
  Pastry Glossary.

Low fat and delicious. Photo by River
Soma | THE NIBBLE.